• 08
  • February
    2012

In Pennsylvania there are strict laws regarding who is allowed to purchase and carry firearms. The reasoning behind these laws is to ensure that a dangerous person is not in possession of a firearm. Sadly, some people find ways to skirt these laws, and then use these guns to commit unspeakable crimes.

Currently, this is the issue at hand in a Pennsylvania wrongful death lawsuit. The lawsuit was recently filed by the parents of a 39-year-old who was shot dead by the jealous husband of the mistress he was having an affair with.

However, the wrongful death lawsuit is not only against the husband -- who is currently serving a life sentence for the murder -- but also names the husband's 55-year-old wife. The claim is that she should be held accountable as she was the one who had purchased the gun for her husband to use. She supposedly made gun purchases knowing that her husband was not legally allowed to possess firearms due to an earlier rape and kidnapping conviction.

According to the lawsuit, the wife bought a .44-caliber handgun and a semi-automatic rifle for her husband. This rifle ended up being the very one that was used in the murder.

On that day, the husband went to the Westmoreland County man's home, broke down the door and shot the 39-year-old in the leg as he dove out of a second floor window. The 39-year-old ended up landing on the porch before falling to the ground. Neighbors testified during the murder trial that the man begged for his life, as the jealous husband stood over him and proceeded to shoot him twice more.

This shooting happened after the husband and wife had gotten into an argument regarding the affair.

Now, the family of the deceased 39-year-old is seeking more than $150,000 in damages, plus compensation for their son's funeral and burial.

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, "Parents of murder victim Mears sue mistress, his killer," Paul Peirce, Feb. 4, 2012